Friday, 27 March 2015

Wargames In the Dining Room

For the past few years I have enjoyed many a game in Matt's sumptuous wargaming dungeon. He has lots of space, a large hand built gaming table, with modular boards and a terrain collection he has built up over the years. From small skirmishes in the Indian Wars, robberies on the streets of Victorian London, to mass fantasy battles and the occasional flight into space. There's even a wine cellar attached!

My own set up is a far more modest, portable affair. I have a painted fleece blanket which I throw over the dining room table, a few books as hills and a bit of scatter terrain. It's a 5 x 3 space, so ideal for many of the skirmish games we play. Once I get my terrain collection upgraded, it should be just fine for games like LotR skirmish, Saga, Lion Rampant, Of Gods and Mortals, maybe I will even get my Dystopian Legions forces finished one day.

There are two advantages I can claim over the dungeon (yes, I do have dungeon envy). My system is light and portable. A couple of weeks back I rolled up my battle mat and loaded it and my box of dark ages figures into the boot of the car and they travelled 100 miles to a family visit, where I was able to demonstrate wargaming to my brother in law. And secondly, as you can see from these glorious technicolour images, the lighting is pretty good for photography. I use the dining room as my painting area, so it's equipped with a good daylight bulb in the ceiling and in a portable floor lamp, to aid vision through the long dark of the winter months. Admittedly, that's all a poor second to the nerd heaven of a dedicated gaming room, but it's a start!